The field of the disclosure relates generally to game playing methods for gaming machines, such as video slot machines and video poker machines, and, more particularly, to methods of customizing video image displays on gaming machines according to characteristics of a player and/or an environment.
As video technology advances, at least some known traditional mechanically-driven reel slot machines are being replaced with electronic machines that include electronic video displays, such as cathode ray tube (CRT) displays, liquid crystal displays (LCD), and/or other electronic display types. Moreover, play of video gaming machines, such as video slot machines and/or video poker machines, has become increasingly popular due in part to the large variety of games that may be implemented on gaming machines having the same or similar electronic components. In addition, at least some electronic gaming machines include computing architectures similar to those used in personal computers. Such architectures enable the gaming machines to operate increasingly complex games, including multiple displays and/or attraction sequences.
As gaming machines operate increasingly complex games, size constraints of the displays and/or cabinets containing the displays may cause objects and text to be displayed in a smaller size, and/or may limit the size of the display area itself. Research has indicated that a number of prospective players are over the age of 40, with more being substantially older still. As has been demonstrated through medical research, people over the age of 40 typically begin to see a noticeable degradation in their vision. For example, common aging effects relate to vision, such as presbyopia (lens hardening), senile miosis (reduced pupil size), and cornea and/or lens yellowing. Although corrective lenses may improve and compensate for some of such effects, corrective lenses generally are optimized at fixed focal distances that are unique to each individual. As such, each player may have a different perception of the playing field of the gaming machine display depending on a type, i.e., bifocal or trifocal, and/or corrective curvature of the corrective lens. As such, to fully visualize the same display areas different players may require different sized playing fields.
Moreover, at least some known gaming machine displays use fixed brightness and/or contrast values based on display manufacturer settings. Such settings are subjective and may have no relation to, for example, characteristics of the player or surrounding environmental conditions, such as the surrounding ambient light. As a result, graphics displayed on such gaming machine displays may appear less than optimal, which may compromise the player's experience. For example, in brighter ambient environments, depending on the brightness and contrast of the display, graphics displayed may be difficult to view, and may impair the player's visual perception. In contrast, in low ambient environments, depending on the brightness and contrast of the display, the graphics displayed may cause eye strain, and may thus reduce an amount of time the player enjoys or plays the game.
Further, at least some known gaming machine displays are set to use an increased brightness level and an increased contrast level to compensate for the lower retinal illumination of the majority of players. However, permanently increasing the brightness and contrast of such displays may negatively impact the lifespan of the displays.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide game playing methodologies for gaming machines that maintain and increase playing interest and player comfort by adjusting a size of the game playing field, the brightness, and/or the contrast of the gaming machine display according to player characteristics and/or environmental characteristics.